I have smoked a pipe and cigars since I was in high school, almost 40 years now, with no health affects. No loss of wind when climbing stairs, etc. On the few occasions where I had a cigarette or 3, I usually felt like crap afterwards.

It is pretty well established that when it comes to food, our bodies do much better when we eat real, unproccessed, food with no, or minimal additives. Does the same hold true with tobacco?

Generally pipe and cigar tobacco has little or none of these things in them. Machine made cigars may have some additional additives in them but nothing to the extent that cigarette tobacco. Also most people don't inhale cigar and pipe smoke (I do).

So the question is, while smoking in general is not a healthy choice, is smoking pure tobacco products a healthier choice than smoking cigarettes full of chemicals?

There has been several post lately about people wanting to, or tryin to quit smoking. Would switching to a purer tobacco product be a way for them to, if not quit, at least inhale a purer product?

Also, cigars and pipes don't seem to be as addicting as cigarettes are. When I go home for time off, I'll often go my whole time home without smoking anything. During the day at work, I have little or no desire to run outside for a smoke. I enjoy my pipe or cigar in the evenings when relaxing at home or smoke shesha while visiting with friends in the evenings.

Looking at the additives approved by the US government for adding to cigarette tobacco, it sure looks like out of the tobacco choices that someone has to choose from, cigarettes are the worse option.

06-19-2012, 01:36 AM

Tribal Rob

Interesting question. I was mainly (90% of the time or more) a roll-ups smoker, with a filter in, there certainly wasn't the chemical taste as with propper cigs, rolling baccy is pretty much the same as pipe baccy, but cut finner. I was addicted, no doubt about that, and you can still get cancer etc from them, peopel who chew baccy get mouth cancer. But a agree that if you are going to smoke pure tabbacco products are 'healthier'

06-19-2012, 06:00 AM

Jovana

I'm not a smoker but my dad is and lately he has been complaining that he isn't feeling well (coughing a lot etc) because he can't get cigarettes that are made of pure tobacco and believes that popular cigarette brands are producing their products in asia where tobacco is poor quality and nasty chemicals are added. So he definitely believes that pure & chemical free cigarettes are a lot better for his body.

06-19-2012, 07:31 AM

Forever Young

This is absurd! Smoking has absolutely no place in a healthy lifestyle. Its a nasty addiction and nobody would smoke any of that crap without the nicotine in it. One of the worst drugs on the planet.

06-19-2012, 08:08 AM

Tribal Rob

[QUOTE=Forever Young;872825]This is absurd! Smoking has absolutely no place in a healthy lifestyle. Its a nasty addiction and nobody would smoke any of that crap without the nicotine in it. One of the worst drugs on the planet.[/QUOTE]

Yes but all my mates do it and it makes me look grown up and cool!!!

06-19-2012, 09:07 AM

noodletoy

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]cigars are about the grossest thing. it looks like a big poop hanging off your lip. yuk.

and the stink of 'em. just yuk.[/SIZE][/FONT]

06-19-2012, 09:18 AM

kenn

[QUOTE=noodletoy;872921][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]cigars are about the grossest thing. it looks like a big poop hanging off your lip. yuk.

and the stink of 'em. just yuk.[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote=forever young;872825]this is absurd! Smoking has absolutely no place in a healthy lifestyle. Its a nasty addiction and nobody would smoke any of that crap without the nicotine in it. One of the worst drugs on the planet.[/quote]

lol!

06-19-2012, 09:40 AM

texas.grok

[QUOTE=Forever Young;872825]This is absurd! Smoking has absolutely no place in a healthy lifestyle. Its a nasty addiction and nobody would smoke any of that crap without the nicotine in it. One of the worst drugs on the planet.[/QUOTE]

I don't disagree with this but my point was that if you are going to put anything in your body, rather strictly primal, paleo, healthy, whatever, the addition of 599 chemicals may turn something that is mildly bad for you into something really bad. Cigarettes seem to have an addictive quality to them that pipes and cigars don't have, or at least, not as bad as cigs. It is like the difference between processed carbs and natural carbs that don't have chemicals added to them. Eating a lot of potatoes may not be good for you but eating processed potato like chips, like Pringles, are worse.

06-19-2012, 09:54 AM

trekfan

I don't smoke, but my grandfather does smoke pipe and has since he was in his late teens. He's in his late 70s now, runs his own little farm with cattle and gardens. He's pretty damn strong, pretty damn healthy for his age; he can easily maneuver around and in the last 10 years has only been to the doctor once for himself-that was to get some eye surgery to help with vision.

Then there's my grandmother, who smoked cigarettes since her late teens and is in her early 70s now. She gave up smoking about 6 years ago due to health issues; she's had to take multiple doctor trips over the last ten years due to poor health ranging from sickness to falls. Her memory is also spotty sometimes and she's put on a good bit of weight since she quit.

Take that for what you will. The two have been eating the same diet for virtually the last 50 years or so. My grandfather is the classic white Southern farmer while my grandmother is full Japanese. Other than those differences, the only other ones were what they smoked. Grandpa smoked pipe, Grandma smoked cigs.

It's probably causality for than anything but that's my two cents, based on observation.

06-19-2012, 09:57 AM

jakey

you don't inhale cigars or pipes - right? at least you're not supposed to. that explains the lack of impact on your lung function. don't kid yourself though, they're carcinogens, and you're swirling oxidized inflammatory compounds around in your mouth and the back of your throat. better than cigarettes? yeah sure. is that saying much? NO.